Abstract

It is remarkable how many developments in biological sciences have their origin in earlier ideas which were nearly forgotten and were buried. This review illustrates this with a few examples. Free solution capillary electrophoresis is a refined version of moving boundary electrophoresis. Immobilised metal affinity chromatography rests on the early work on protein precipitation with metal ions. The concept of proteins as templates was rejected in early times but has resurfaced in the contexts of prions and intrinsically disordered protein regions. The approach of using enzymes in organic solvents is credited to papers published in late 1980s; the idea though is as old at least as the beginning of the 20th century.

Regular minds find similarities in stories [and situations]; finer minds detect differences ..... Many are so original they study history to find mistakes to repeat (Nassim Nicholas Taleb; ‘The Bed Of Procrustes’).